Coronavirus: Vaccines

#676

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... w-booster/

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a reformulated coronavirus vaccine in a bid to provide increased protection ahead of cooler weather — even as the nation experiences a late-summer uptick of covid-19 cases and hospitalizations.

The shots, which target an omicron subvariant and were cleared for everyone 6 months and older, are manufactured by Moderna and by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech. If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signs off Tuesday, injections could be available in pharmacies, clinics and doctor’s offices by the end of the week.

The FDA decides who can get a shot, but it’s the CDC that recommends who should get it. That question has been vigorously debated by agency officials and its outside experts in recent days.

The CDC is leaning toward a broad recommendation that covers almost all ages, mirroring the FDA approach, according to federal officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. But it is possible that some on the agency’s panel of outside experts, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, will push for a targeted recommendation focused on those at greatest risk — older Americans or people with weakened immune systems or other illnesses. The committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday on the matter and CDC Director Mandy Cohen is expected to weigh in shortly afterward, the final step in allowing the new shot to be administered.

The big question is whether health authorities should try to sell the vaccine to a covid-fatigued public “by calling attention to the groups for whom the vaccines provide the strongest potential benefit — or by saying this [shot] provides some benefit to everyone, but a bigger one to some people,” said Jason L. Schwartz, an associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health.

While many people are referring to the updated shots as boosters, they actually represent a new vaccine formula, health officials said.

#677

Sort of about Covid vaccine. I got my RSV vaccine today. I can get the Covid and flu now in two weeks. (I could have gotten the flu with the RSV.) The pharmacist told me that they no longer have the old Covid vaccine. Going forward, it's only the new.

I was told to let them know if I have a red or particularly sore arm from the RSV. There are reports of it, and the CDC is tracking it.

#678

My Mister’s youngest daughter is getting married in France and we’re supposed to leave here on Thursday. Today we went to the pharmacy to get Covid & Flu shots. We got the Flu shot but was told the Covid shot was no longer covered by insurance and it was going to cost $200.00 EACH! That’s insane! Has anyone else attempted to get one recently?

#679

MsDaisy 2 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2023 12:15 pm My Mister’s youngest daughter is getting married in France and we’re supposed to leave here on Thursday. Today we went to the pharmacy to get Covid & Flu shots. We got the Flu shot but was told the Covid shot was no longer covered by insurance and it was going to cost $200.00 EACH! That’s insane! Has anyone else attempted to get one recently?

There is a Q & A going on at WaPo right now. Someone asked this question before I got to it. It's just confusion as the new vaccine is being rolled out. The government mandates the vaccine is available free to everyone. Might be a good idea to wait until the pharmacies and insurance companies get their acts together.

#680

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 12:36 pm
MsDaisy 2 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2023 12:15 pm
Might be a good idea to wait until the pharmacies and insurance companies get their acts together.

My mother would have referred to something like that as "waiting for Hell to freeze over"

Slim Cognito · #681

I just came from Walgreens where I got my flu and Moderna shots and didn’t have to pay a cent.

Guess I got lucky. I am over 65. Is that why?

SuzieC · #682

I'm on my way there now. I think both shots will be free.

ETA: Yup, both were free.

#683

Slim Cognito wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 1:35 pm I just came from Walgreens where I got my flu and Moderna shots and didn’t have to pay a cent.

Guess I got lucky. I am over 65. Is that why?

Covered by insurance? Osco does not even ask for my insurance info on vaxes as they already have it on file. I assumed the vaccinations not provided free are just charged to my insurance (I am thinking of the recent Shingles one). I guess I should check to see.

#684

Covid is covered in the government mandate. Just a confusing roll-out.

I got my RSV last week, so have to wait until next week to get flu and Covid. Maybe by then, they will all have their acts together.

Slim Cognito · #685

I didn't realize there was an RSV vax. I'll see about getting signed up for that next week. Can't risk bringing anything home to Hubs, when he gets back home (he's in the hospital again).

#686

Hope he's out soon.

#687

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2 ... e-denials/

Federal officials promised the new covid shot would be free and covered by insurance, but some Americans have encountered a different reality this week as they tried to get vaccinated, only to be denied coverage or charged up to $200.

They have faced myriad complications, from pharmacies being out of network, to the vaccine not showing up on lists of approved medical expenses, to needing prior authorization. Some Americans paid out of pocket to avoid waiting. Others say they weren’t even given that option.

The hiccups reflect a new reality for covid vaccines as they go from being treated as a public good to a commercial product. Now that the federal government is no longer buying and distributing all the shots, Americans must endure the usual headaches of dealing with insurance companies and a for-profit health care system.

“Last year there was one player — the federal government,” Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview. “And now there’s a lot more players and … they’re not accountable to us.”

W. Kevin Vicklund · #688

Dr. Vicklund and I are getting our Covid boosters this evening; Dr. Vicklund will also be getting her flu shot at the same time (she got her monthly Cimzia shot two weeks ago, so this is the ideal timing for her to get vaxxed). I will have to get a special flu shot from the county health service at a later time because of my allergies.

#689

Sounds like me. I have to discontinue meds before and after COVID vaccines. Which I can’t do now because I’d feel worse than the crap I feel.

W. Kevin Vicklund · #690

At first, that's what Dr. Vicklund had to do. By the time the boosters started rolling out, they had enough data that she was cleared as long as she had a two week window on either side for her immunosuppressants. There's a couple of meds she has to go off for a few days, which sucks, but most are fine with the two and two.

Maybenaut · #691

We got our latest Pfizer covid booster today. We’re getting the flu and RSV vaccines in two weeks. We’re going on a River Cruise in October and we want to be prepared for close-quarters travel.

#692

W. Kevin Vicklund wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 2:21 pm At first, that's what Dr. Vicklund had to do. By the time the boosters started rolling out, they had enough data that she was cleared as long as she had a two week window on either side for her immunosuppressants.

Yeah. But now I'm on them every 10 days. And recently discovered inflammation numbers not as good as thought.

W. Kevin Vicklund · #693

I'm all jabbed, in two weeks I can get to the stabbing

Volkonski · #694

We got our Covid and flu vaccines today. Will wait until we are back in Texas to get the RSV shot.

Wintermute · #695

I got RSV, COVID and flu shot the 21st, was a horrible idea. The grandson who I take to school every morning tested positive the next day and I came down with COVID, 9/26. Taking all 3 shots at the same time was a bad idea.

#696

I was told not to do more than two shots at a time. I did the RSV two weeks ago, plan to get flu and Covid this week.

Volkonski · #697

Mercury News :press:
@mercnews@press.coop
CDC is no longer distributing COVID vaccination cards

Covid-19 vaccination cards debuted in late 2020 as a simple way for the government and vaccine recipients to keep track of doses delivered and could be used to prove vaccination status for things like large events and international travel.

qbawl · #698

Volkonski wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 8:48 pm Mercury News :press:
@mercnews@press.coop
CDC is no longer distributing COVID vaccination cards

Covid-19 vaccination cards debuted in late 2020 as a simple way for the government and vaccine recipients to keep track of doses delivered and could be used to prove vaccination status for things like large events and international travel.

Yes, I got my shot today and gave the pharmacist my card and she said she would fill it out but it is no longer required.

#699

Pin cushion day. Had blood work done, went into the CVS in the Target across the street and got the Moderna and flu.

#700

Woo-hoo! Just got the latest Covid shot.